The Kid
by ZIAluvsTV09
Summary: “Yeah, you probably shouldn’t do that.” She said, crossing her arms. Danny slowly brought his head up, examining the teenager through his glasses.
1. Following Orders

Alrighty so here it is...I don't own anything. Gum, if you're reading this: You like fluff, right? Good...

"Danny, I need to ask a favor." Mac told the CSI. Danny looked up from his desk. He hadn't had any cases the past few days, so instead had been catching up on his paperwork in his office.

"What do you need, Mac?" He replied, his accent drawled out from his tiredness. He watched as his boss took a deep breath. Danny had never seen Mac nervous before, but he guessed this was what it looked like.

"Well…you know my homicide I'm working?"

Danny nodded. Lindsay had been working the same case, and when they had gone out to dinner she had told him all about it. A fifteen-year-old (Danny couldn't remember the name) had witnessed her mother's bloody murder. Fortunately, the killer had not seen her. Mac's voice brought Danny back from his reverie.

"He…she…Okay Danny. She needs a place to stay." Mac blurted.

"The kid?"

"Yes."

"What's that got to do with me?" Danny asked.

"I've already asked everyone else. No one has room…" Mac treaded carefully. He knew that Dannymight not react well. "I know you have an extra bedroom."

"How…"

"Lindsay." Mac answered.

Danny made a mental note to talk to Ms. Monroe after this meeting…

"Mac, why can't she stay with her social worker or whoever she's been staying with for the past week?" Danny asked. It wasn't that he didn't like kids, he just didn't know how to handle them very well.

"Danny, he found her." Mac stated gravely. Danny knew what he meant immediately.

"How?"

"Nobody knows. All we _do_ know is that last night someone went into her temporary foster home and killed both of the parents." Mac explained, watching as Danny's mouth set into a frown. "Luckily she was at a friend's house…"

"So she needs protection from him?" Danny asked. It was more of a statement than a question, but Mac still nodded. "Mac, I don't know…"

"Messer, this girl needs to feel safe. You'll do that, won't you?" Mac asked. Danny took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, spiking it up more than usual.

"What will you do if I say no?"

"Then I'll change my attitude." Mac said, his face suddenly deathly serious. "Detective Messer, I'm ordering you to take this child into your protection, And don't mess it up." He said before exiting, leaving a stunned Danny behind. He leaned back in his chair with his hands linked behind his head.

"How am I gonna deal with living with a fifteen-year-old kid…?" He whispered to himself.

"Well let's get one thing straight."

Danny was so caught by surprise that he leaned back too far, sending him and the chair tumbling behind the desk. He began to rub his head. That was _definitely_ going to leave a mark…

"I am _not_ a kid." He heard the voice again. Danny looked up and saw a teenage girl leaning over the desk looking at him.

"What the…" He mumbled, quickly getting back on his feet. He instantly regretted it, feeling all of the blood rush back into his skull and making it pound.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't do that." She said, crossing her arms. Danny slowly brought his head up, examining the teenager through his glasses.

She had on tennis shoes and worn out jeans that had a couple of tears in them. Danny saw that she was wearing an oversized zip-up sweatshirt with a tight T-shirt beneath it, and he wondered if she was trying to cover the marks.

Danny had remembered that Lindsay had also told him about the beatings the girl had endured. Apparently all of her mother's boyfriends had physically abused her.

That would explain her behavior…

"Are you just gonna stare at me?" She asked. For the first time Danny realized that she had a Staten Island accent, almost identical to his own.

"Sorry…" He said quietly, his eyes finally traveling towards the girl's face. She had wavy dirty blonde hair that went to just below her shoulders and clear blue eyes.

"You're Messer, right?" She asked. Danny numbly nodded. Those eyes…it was almost as if they could look through to his soul…

"How'd you get in here?" He asked, suddenly remembering his scare. He saw her grin madly and couldn't help but smile back as she replied.

"I opened the door and walked in." She said, chuckling when Danny's smile faded. "Detective Taylor told me to come in as soon as he left. The door didn't even close." She told him as she began to tinker with things that were on his desk.

"He just assumed I'd say yes…" Danny mumbled.

"Pretty much." She shrugged. "Mac also told me that we would be leaving immediately."

"Well he didn't tell me that." Danny said, sitting in his chair once he had set it back upright. He smiled as her mouth dropped slightly, then closed again.

"Then I'll just call him and tell him that you're not cooperating--" She said, reaching across the desk for his phone. Danny slapped her hand before she could grab it.

"Fine. We'll leave." Danny said through his teeth. The teenager smiled almost evilly as she walked towards the couch, grabbing a backpack that she had apparently brought in with her. Danny rolled his eyes as he began to gather his things.

"You take too long." She said, moving to open the door. Just as her hand reached the doorknob she was frightened by Danny's voice.

"Do _not_…leave…this room without me." He said. She froze in her place. She heard Danny's throwing his jacket on behind her, then felt him gently move her out of the way. He opened the door and stole a glance into the hallway before holding his hand out. Danny looked at the teenager and was surprised to see her looking down at her feet. "Well…? You're the one who wanted to leave…"

"Please don't tell me what to do." She asked meekly, avoiding eye contact with Danny. He was taken aback by her statement, but when she finally looked up he couldn't help but nod. Her previously bright green eyes were now dark and her cocky smile was gone from her face.

"Yeah…okay." He said, confused to how she was able to change her demeanor so quickly.

"I mean, I know you're supposed to protect me, but can you just…_ask_ me to do stuff instead of telling me?" She said, this time with a small smile on her lips. Danny felt one side of his lips creep up in a crooked smile as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Would you do me the honor of leaving my office, m'lady?" He said, bending over at the waist and sweeping his arm out. When he looked up he saw that she was back to her teenage self, one eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.

"You're a dork." She stated simply, walking past him and into the hallway. Danny nodded his head slightly as he led her to the elevator. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all…

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE review? I'm pregnant with twins...make me happy by reviewing...


	2. Home Sweet Home

"This is where you live…?" She asked as they entered his flat. Danny looked around and smiled.

"Yup. Home sweet home."

"There's a pool table and a motorcycle in the living room." She said, pointing to the objects with a confused look on her face. She started moving towards the pool table when Danny stopped her.

"Hey!" He yelled, realizing he hadn't even asked for her name yet. What kind of a bodyguard doesn't even know their charge's name? She quickly spun around and faced him, her hand inches from the table. "You don't wanna touch that." He said, feeling the redness creep up his neck.

"Why not, Messer?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Okay, we need to have a couple of rules here, kid." Danny said, gesturing towards the couch. She bit the side of her cheek and sat down, leaving about two feet between them. "Don't call me Messer. Only Flack calls me that, and its just to annoy me." He began.

"Then don't call me kid." She interrupted. He looked at her incredulously.

"Whatever. If I'm not allowed to call you kid, then what can I call you?" Danny asked. He watched as she smiled hugely.

"You don't know my name, do you…?" She asked, chuckling.

"Yes I do…"

"Then what is it?"

"Its…" He said, cursing himself for not listening to Lindsay when she was telling him the story. Oh! He remembered it started with an 'L'…Lucy, Leslie, Lynn, Lily…that's it! "Lily." He quickly said. She seemed surprised, but still kept that same cocky smile on her face.

"That's not my full name."

"Uh…" Danny thought about it. "Lilian?"

"No, but I didn't expect you to guess it." She said. "Galilea."

"That's still not your full name." Danny said.

"Tell me yours."

"I asked first."

"I'm the guest. I get my way." She said. Danny scoffed and looked at her.

"You get your way? I don't think so, kid."

"Don't call me kid!" She shouted, a smile still on her face. "What's your full name, Messer?" She asked, purposely irritating him.

"Daniel Messer." He mumbled.

"What, no middle name?" Lily asked, enjoying his discomfort.

"Daniel…Jason…Messer." He said, pronouncing his middle name so quietly she could hardly hear him.

"That's not even an embarrassing middle name…" Lily said, confusion written all over her face.

"Its not that." Danny said. "My older sister used to call me DJ when I was little, just to bug me." He continued, surprised he was sharing this much information with a complete stranger.

"And…" Lily said, waiting for a reply.

"Well you just remind me of her a little bit and I didn't want you calling me that." He blurted. Danny had never seen a more purposeful smile on a fifteen-year-old girl's face as Lily had at that moment.

"So if I called you DJ…"

"No." He said.

"Aw, come on…"

"Nope."

"Please…"

"Nada."

"Pretty please?" She repeated. Danny looked up from his hands and instantly regretted it. How could a teenager still be a master of the puppy dog pout…?

"Hey, knock it off kid." He said, somewhat unable to look away from her. Those eyes again…boring into his brain…

"I'll let you call me kid if I can call you DJ." She offered, her bottom lip still pouted out. Danny took a deep breath and sighed.

"No." He said, quickly standing up and walking towards the kitchen, motioning for her to follow him. "By the way, you still have to tell me your full name." He added, opening the fridge and peeking inside.

"Galilea Annemarie Johnson."

Danny froze in place. He had just reached his hand to grab some leftover take out. The food was the last thing on his mind.

"What?" He asked, closing his eyes as he slowly closed the refrigerator door.

"I said my name is Galilea Annemarie Johnson." She repeated. Lily watched as his face fell. "Messer…? You still with me?" She asked, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Don't call me Messer." He said, snapping back into reality and smiling at her. Lily just shook her head and walked around him towards the cupboards. They both had things to learn about the other, but that could wait.

"Fine, _Daniel_." She said sarcastically, opening a door and discovering an empty shelf. "Don't you have any food?"

"Yeah." Danny said, opening the fridge and grabbing the neglected food. "We have leftover Chinese or pizza." He said, laughing out loud when Lily immediately grabbed for the pizza box.

"I _love_ pizza!" She yelled, opening it and beginning to eat a cold slice. Danny rolled his eyes and put the Chinese carton back in the refrigerator. This was going to be interesting…

La la la...please review...I'm kinda bored...


	3. Danny Daddy

"Oh come on!" Danny heard Lily yell from the living room. They had just finished the last of the pizza when a Mets v. Yankees game had come on the television. Now Danny was cleaning up and taking time to think about the teenage girl in the next room.

Meanwhile, Lily was watching the game with incredible enthusiasm. The Yankees were down by two points in the bottom of the ninth, and the bases were loaded. The batter had two strikes and three balls. A full count…

"Yeah!" Lily screamed, punching her fist in the air as the Yankee player got a home run and won the game. She felt her knuckles connect with something and turned around to see Danny holding his nose. "Oh crap! I'm sorry Danny!" She said, getting up and walking around the couch. He was a bit taller than her, so she went on her tiptoes and pushed his hand away from his face.

"What were you doing in here kid?" He asked, opening and closing his eyes to blink back the tears.

"The Yankees won the game." Lily said, hoping it would cheer the CSI up. It didn't work. She dropped her shoulders and shook her head, walking back around and plopping down on the couch.

"Sorry." Danny whispered from behind her. Lily had to think and make sure she wasn't hearing things.

"For what? I'm the one who punched you…" She said, keeping her eyes glued to the TV.

"Yeah, but I blew up at you." He said quietly. Lily craned her head around and saw him looking at her sincerely.

"Its okay." She said, wondering why he was suddenly so genuine to her. "But anyway…my team won. You owe me twenty dollars." She said, turning back around and holding her hand up by her ear. Danny cursed himself for making the bet in the first place. Apparently he should not only never bet against a country girl but never bet against a girl _period_.

"Nah, I don't owe you nothing." He said, using the back of the couch to hold himself up with his arms. He heard Lily gasp and watched as she quickly spun around again, her mouth agape. "What?" He asked innocently.

"Never mind." She said, pouting. "What time is it?"

"Around 10:15, why?" He asked, only to be interrupted by Lily's yawn. "Oh." He said. "Well, I'll take your bag to your room." Lily simply nodded and laid her head on the couch, watching the awards being handed out.

Danny walked into the guest room and took a deep breath. The only things that were in there were a bed, small dresser and side table with a lamp. He set her bag on the floor by the closet and walked back into the hallway. He was about to go and get Lily when he stopped at his own bedroom. As quietly as he could, Danny opened his closet doors and reached for the shoebox in the very back of the top shelf. When he pulled it down he began to cough because of the amount of dust on it. He blew the top of it off as he walked towards his bed.

Danny began mesmerizing when he heard a loud noise from the living room.

Lily.

He threw the shoebox in the bottom of his closet and ran back into the living room, gun drawn. He looked around but only saw Lily still laying on the couch. As he attempted to identify the noise he had heard he saw Lily take a deep breath, causing her to snore loudly. _That_ was what he heard.

Danny had to hold back his laughter as he watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful. Not at all like the spunky little brat she really was…

Now Danny had a problem. Lily's bedroom was down the hall. She was asleep. She looked so at rest for the first time in probably a very long time that Danny just didn't have the heart to wake her. He took a deep breath and moved towards the couch. He carefully reached under Lily and counted to three in his head.

1...2...3...Lift.

Lily was lighter than he thought she would be, which wasn't much to begin with. Danny waited until he was sure she hadn't woken before carrying her down the hall. It wasn't until he placed her on top of the bed that she began to stir.

"Mom…?" She whimpered, her eyes half open as she looked around sleepily.

"No, its Danny." He said quietly, slightly unsure of what to do. He watched curiously as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"My mom's dead…" She realized before beginning to sob. Danny couldn't take it anymore. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her shoulders and felt her collapse into him. He knew she probably wouldn't remember this in the morning, but he didn't care.

"Shh…its okay." He comforted her. Eventually her breathing began to slow and he realized that she had fallen back asleep. He laid her head back on the pillow and gently kissed her forehead before standing up.

"'Nite kid." He said quietly as he walked towards the door.

"Good night daddy."

Danny couldn't tell if it was her lack of awareness or the similarity between Danny and daddy that caused her to call him that. One thing he did know was that he couldn't help but smile as he closed the door to her room and headed to his own bedroom for the night.

Love reviews...a lot. Almost as much as I love my husband!! Okay, not THAT much...but still.


	4. I Miss You

The next morning Danny got up at his usual time and began making breakfast when he heard the soft patter of feet in the hallway. He turned around and grinned, amused by Lily's disheveled look.

"Shut up." She murmured, waving her hand at him as she went to sit at the dining table.

"I didn't even say anything, kid!" He said defensively. She just shook her head.

"Whatever." She said as he brought her a plate of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. "Whoa, you can cook? What was up with all those takeout boxes?"

"I can cook breakfast anytime. Any other meal…" He trailed off, making a disgusted face and making Lily giggle. He raised an eyebrow at her as he took a quick sip of coffee. "Did I just hear you…_giggle_?"

"No." Lily said, trying to hide her smile by taking a sip of orange juice. "So am I staying here while you work, or what?"

"Ha. No." Danny said. "Mac told me to protect you. Leaving you alone in the middle of the city wouldn't really qualify as that, now would it?"

"I guess not…" Lily said. "Then what am I supposed to do today?"

"Well I guess you're coming to work with me, kid." Danny said. He hadn't really thought about that. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast. I'm going to go take a shower." He told her. "Oh, and stay away from the windows." He warned her.

Once Danny got out of the shower and got dressed, he walked down the hallway to gather his things.

"Lil…" He began to say, buttoning the last one on his shirt as he entered the kitchen. As he brought his head up he noticed that no one was there. "Aw come on." He said, going into cop mode and searching for the teenager. "Lily? Come on kid, where are you…?" He asked himself as he walked back down the hallway. He heard music coming from his guest bedroom, so he slowed and plastered himself against the door, listening.

She was singing.

Danny would never mistake the sound of an acoustic guitar as he listened to her plucking the strings. He became suddenly curious as to where she had gotten the instrument when he realized he had left his own guitar out in the open living room.

He kept his ear against the door and continued to listen to Lily sing. He realized what the lyrics were and his heart broke.

She was singing "I miss you" by Miley Cyrus.

Danny took a deep breath before backing up and rapping his knuckles against the door. He heard the playing and singing stop before Lily threw the door open.

"Oh you're done." She said, smiling shyly. "I'll just go get ready." On that note Lily returned inside the room for a brief moment, grabbing her toiletries from her bag. Danny just nodded silently and walked back into the hallway, but not before stealing a glance and seeing his guitar resting against the wall of her room.

As Danny returned to the kitchen he rolled his eyes at the sight of Lily's dirty dishes on the table. They were going to have to talk about that as well…

He sighed and walked over to wash the dishes. When he was finished he saw something shining on the counter. His curiosity getting the best of him, he dried his hands off and reached to pick it up.

"Stop!"

Danny pulled his hand back as if the silver necklace had burned him when Lily shouted. He spun around and saw her standing in the doorway, her eyes not leaving the counter.

"What's up with you, kid…?"

"Please just don't touch that." She said quietly, moving quickly and grabbing the piece of jewelry. Danny watched as she put the chain around her neck and latch the clasp. She turned back around and Danny got a better view of the necklace. It was a long chain with a single key on it.

"Hey, uh…Lil?" Danny asked, unable to move his eyes away from the 2 ½ inch long key.

"Yeah?" She asked, crossing her arms nervously.

"Do you mind telling me where you got that?" He asked. He was still curious about this girl…

"Well…" Lily began quietly, looking around the room.

"Its okay if you don't want to." Danny interrupted her. "I was just wondering--"

"You'll think its stupid…"

"Nah. I promise I won't."

"Okay." Lily said, taking a deep breath. "My father ran off when I was two. I don't remember him, and my mom burned all of the pictures she had of him. She wouldn't tell me anything about my dad except on my thirteenth birthday when she gave me this." Lily said, holding the key between her fingers to show Danny. "She said that my dad wanted me to have it to say that I always had the key to his heart."

As she finished, she looked up to see Danny's eyes closed. He looked as if he wasn't breathing. She watched him take a deep breath and then reopen his eyes.

"Alright." He said quietly. Danny glanced over to the clock on the stove, his mouth opening. "Damn it. I'm gonna be late." He said as his cell phone began to ring. He hurriedly looked at while Lily got her shoes and jacket on. It was Mac. "Messer." He answered.

"How is she?" His boss replied. Danny rolled his eyes. He didn't even get a 'hello'.

"She's fine. We're about to leave…"

"No!" Mac shouted into the phone. Danny froze putting on his coat and held the phone away from his ear.

"What are you talking about, Mac?" He asked.

"I don't know how, but he knows we have her." Mac began to explain. Danny drew a deep breath and put his hand on Lily's shoulder, stopping her from opening the door. She winced slightly and he withdrew his hand. There was yet another thing they had to discuss…

"So you don't want us going out?" Danny asked. Lily's head snapped towards him, her mouth wide open. He shrugged and she began mouthing 'no' to him in an almost pleading manner.

"Exactly. He doesn't know _who_ is watching her, and we don't want him finding out."

"Alright." Danny said. Lily scowled at him and slapped his arm. "Ouch…" He whined.

"What?" Mac asked.

"Nothing." Danny said, reaching over and knocking his CSI ball cap Lily had confiscated off from her head. "I guess I'll talk to you later then."

"Okay. Lindsay said she'd drop by later to check up on you and Galilea."

"Check up on us?"

"Just to make sure you haven't killed each other."

"Good idea." Danny mumbled as Mac hung up. The CSI closed his phone and looked back at Lily who was still glaring at him with her arms crossed. "Hey, do you wanna get killed?" He asked. She incoherently mumbled something. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you." He said sarcastically.

"No. I don't want to get killed." She said, louder this time. They remained staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Danny turned on his heels and hung up his jacket.

"Then we have to stay inside, you little punk." He said, smiling at her stubborn face.

"I'm not a punk." She snapped. "And what exactly are we supposed to do stuck in here all day?"

"We could watch TV…" Danny suggested. Lily shrugged and jumped over the back of the couch, grabbing the remote in the process.

Okay, I won't beg you to review. I won't...I promis--okay, please review?


	5. I'm Sorry Kid

It was now 12:30. They had the choice between watching the news or a soap opera. They chose a third option; watch nothing at all.

Now the pair was sitting on Danny's couch, Lily with her legs crossed staring at the wall and Danny sprawled out on the opposite end.

"So…" Lily said. "Anything we could talk about?" Danny came to life and turned towards her, nodding.

"I have a couple things." He said. "Could you at least put your dishes into the sink when you're done eating?"

"Sure." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"And if you wanted to use my guitar, you could've just asked." Danny said, smiling as he saw a red tint creep up Lily's cheeks.

"You heard me?" She whispered.

"Yup." Danny said somewhat proudly. "You got a good voice, kid."

"Don't call me kid." She mumbled. "Is there anything else?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, but…"

"You wanna know about my flinching?" It was more a statement than a question. Danny nodded, holding his breath cautiously.

"Once again, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to--"

"I'll tell you some other time." She began, looking off to nowhere particular. "Just not right now…" She trailed off.

"Yeah, okay." Danny replied. "I'm gonna…I'll be right back." He said, standing up and facing her. She looked up at him and nodded, flipping the television back on. He looked around before walking down the hallway towards his bedroom.

Danny bent down and picked up the forgotten shoebox from last night. He picked up the silver heart shaped box and smiled. He hadn't opened it in fourteen years. He hadn't been _able_ to open it in fourteen years…

He replaced the box and pulled out a photograph. It was of a family. The woman--the mother--had black hair and dark brown eyes. She was standing next to a man with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes holding two little children. The two were around one year old. A boy and a girl, both with matching features to the father. They had nothing that resembled them to their mother…

"Danny!" He heard Lily yell. He once again threw the shoebox on the floor and ran towards his living room, this time pulling out his gun. He saw someone in a large black jacket standing over Lily, who was crying.

"NYPD!" Danny screamed, aiming at the person.

"Jeez Messer!" Don shouted, turning around and holding his arms up. "Its me!" Danny pulled a confused face, then looked around Don at Lily, who was smiling.

"I thought you were in trouble." Danny asked, putting his gun on the nearby coffee table and crossing his arms.

"I was. Donny was tickling me." She said, giggling as Don sat down next to her on the couch.

"Wait…you know Flack?" Danny asked the teenager.

"Yeah man, I knew her mom." Don explained, emphasizing his point by throwing his arms around her shoulders. "You did too…"

"Flack!" Danny interrupted him.

"What?" Don asked innocently. He knew that Danny Messer had dated Lily's mom a while ago, so why was Danny keeping it a secret?

"You knew my mother?" Lily shouted, standing up and marching over to Danny.

"Lil--"

"Danny, why wouldn't you tell me that?" She screamed, throwing her arms around.

"I think I'm just gonna leave…" Don said, quickly exiting the apartment.

"I'm sorry kid." Danny said loudly.

"You're sorry? I can't believe you…wait…" She said. Danny saw the wheels turning in her head and began to worry. "How long ago did you know her?"

Oh boy…

"Galilea…" Danny said.

"Messer please just answer." Lily said. Danny looked at her and saw tears in her big blue eyes. He was trying to decide what to tell her…

"A couple of years." He said.

"So you mean two years?"

"Yeah…" Danny lied. He felt bad for not telling her the truth, but he didn't want to make things worse. Lily glared at him for a moment.

"I'm going to bed." She said quietly, spinning on her heels.

"Its only one o'clock, kid…" Danny said quietly as she walked down the hallway. She froze and spun around, her eyes so light with tears they looked like ice.

"Don't…call me kid." She said. "Goodnight." She said coldly before continuing down the hallway.

"Nite." He whispered before he heard her room's door slam shut, echoing throughout the large apartment.

Kay so this is the last finished chapter I have so far...you'll know when there's an update when you can click the "Next Chapter" button...in the mean time, you should click the "Submit Review" button...


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